2 more in Saudi Arabia die of MERS, cousin to SARS, more fall ill

The Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, or MERS, has taken two more lives in Saudi Arabia. The country's health ministry also report 13 more known cases. MERS is related to the SARS, which appeared in about 37 countries a decade ago.

These deaths bring the total who have died from MERS in Saudi Arabia to 83. There are cases in Jiddah, the holy cities of Mecca and Medina and the capital of Riyadh.

The kingdom has recorded now 285 cases since April of 2012. There are cases in 15 other countries, mostly in the same region. The United Arab Emirates (42), Qatar (7), Jordan (4) and Tunisia (3) have recorded cases, as have Britain (4) and France (2).

There have been 359 cases total in those 15 countries, with 109 of those, or 30 percent, having died. On Monday, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah fired health minister Abdullah al-Rabiah because of the recent spikes in MERS cases. It's unknown how the virus is transmitted and there's no known treatment.